


A Never Ending Story

by pi_ponderer



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Feels, Gen, Light Angst, Minor Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Nico Feels, One-Sided Nico di Angelo/Percy Jackson, Second Chances, Sibling Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-30
Updated: 2015-04-30
Packaged: 2018-03-26 11:54:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3850030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pi_ponderer/pseuds/pi_ponderer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which the Ghost King loses and gains something priceless in one go.</p><p> </p><p>- Set between 'The Last Olympian' and 'The Lost Hero' in September when Nico finds Hazel in the Fields of Asphodel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Never Ending Story

**Author's Note:**

> Every day. Every hour. Every minute. Every second. Life offers us a second chance. A place with the stars~
> 
> Disclaimer: All characters belong to Rick Riordan, although I wish I could use an Obliviate charm on the entire world and steal them.

* * *

 

_Search around, look at what you see,_

_In her face, the mirror of your dreams,_

 

* * *

_  
_  


 

Dawn had barely set in, the first rays of the sun caressed the sky in a brilliant yellow glow.

The crisp cold September wind blew through the cemetery Nico DiAngelo had taken shelter in. He was fast asleep, a tombstone, supporting his thin frame. He clutched a black trenchcoat around him for warmth. The wind gently carried a dried scrunched up leaf,which drifted for a while as if unable to decide which way to go, then swirled right into Nico's face. He woke up in a jolt.

"W-what in the-!"

He sputtered as he ripped the leaf off his face. He was up in an instant, his Stygian sword in his hand ready for a fight. The tension in his shoulders drained like water down a plughole when he realised that he was in no imminent danger.

He stretched like a lanky cat, put on his coat, ran a hand through his hair, and collected his thoughts. It had to be around six in the morning.

 

He took a deep breath his body quivering in anticipation

 

Today was the day.

 

He closed his eyes praying to his Dad, who was also the king of the underworld. He needed all the blessings he could get. He knew he probably shouldn't be feeling this excited. Anything could go wrong, but today of all the days he couldn't bring himself to think of failure.

 

His heart fluttered and his stomach performed cartwheels. There was no way he would be able to keep his breakfast down, so he decided to pass.

He shouldn't have been getting his hopes up.

 

_The Fates had always been cruel to him._

 

And with that Nico DiAngelo, the Ghost King disappeared in a wisp of smoke.

 

* * *

He found himself standing in Central Park staring at the Door of Orpheus.

 

' _The dude with the harp'_ Nico sniggered at his recollection.

 

The memory of him standing here, in the exact same spot with Percy Jackson during the War with Kronos, hit him straight in the gut. That had been before things had gotten sour. He had cheated Percy into meeting his dad in exchange for information. Information about his past. He had gone through with his discrete plan, accomplishing nothing but his mother's name and the son of Poseidon's imprisonment. No doubt he had gotten Percy out (had risked nearly getting speared by Riptide in the process) , helped him bathe in the River Styx, and summoned an entire horde of undead warriors to change the tide of the war along with the Lord of the Dead, his father at his side.

 

He had made up for his mistake but nonetheless something had broken between them.

Percy would never trust him the same way again.

 

  
_' He never did '_ A voice, his conscience, whispered cruelly _' No one does'._  


 

It hadn't been the outcome Nico had hoped for.

 

After the war, after Hades had been accepted on Olympus, after everything was over Nico had decided to give camp a shot. But as the weeks passed by his welcome wore short. No longer was he the valiant hero who had taken the war by a storm. He was just the creepy son of Hades once again. Even if he portrayed a tough exterior, he would be lying if he said the hostile glances didn't bother him. It hadnt helped that Annabeth and Percy had started dating right after the war.

He stood in the shadows as he watched a horde of cheery campers,led by Clarisse, dunk a laughing Percy and Annabeth into the lake. He had felt a dull throb of longing. He didn't ever think loving someone would be this painful. He closed his eyes and melted into the darkness once again.

* * *

 

 

_Make believe I'm everywhere, hidden in the lines_

 

* * *

_  
_  


Today was the day.

Death could not be contained anymore.

He took a deep breath and broke into an Italian lullaby Bianca used to sing to him when they were young. He had always felt warm and protected when Bianca sang to him in a clear strong voice with him humming along with her.

He had never sung this song after he had lost Bianca. His voice alone had never succeeded in being a comfort.

It only reminded him of who he was, and what he had lost.

Not that he was that bad of a singer, his own voice strong and clear, much like his sister's.

The rock opened up to his song.

"I'm coming for you Bianca." He whispered before slipping into the realm of the dead.

 

* * *

 

_Written on the pages is the answer to our never ending story._

 

* * *

 

His knees felt weak, his body limp. All the excitement he felt in the morning felt like a dream. He could feel nothing but pain and rejection. He collapsed onto a bench in Elysium.

The entire landscape glowed in a fake, but beautiful and eternal sunlight.

Old heroes and warriors had gathered and had now watched on with a certain lingering sadness. Death had brought compassion to even the most steely warriors.

 

"Do not despair son of Hades, Ghost King. Bianca DiAngelo has passed on into a new realm, into a new life."

 

A new beginning.

 

Their words of comfort barely reached the said boy as he continued staring into space. The shock had been too much for him.

Bianca had chosen rebirth. _Rebirth_!

Never in million years had he imagined-!

 

_The Fates had always been cruel to him._

 

For the second time in his short life he felt a harsh sting of betrayal. A strange feeling of _deja vú_ dawned on him.

He twisted his skull ring and clenched his eyes shut, images of Bianca in her huntress uniform flashed before him.

 

Her intense eyes, the one thing she had inherited from the Lord of the Dead, brimming with tears as she held out her hand , her beloved skull ring shining in the moonlight.

 

  
_"Oh mio fratellino_. I'm so sorry. I have to go. Its my duty. You understand? Keep this for me will you? As a promise? I'll be back before you know it."

Nico was sobbing as he hugged her fiercely burying his head into the crook of her shoulder.

 

_"T-ti amo."_

 

"Me too Nico. Me too" she whispered wrapping her arms around her baby brother.

 

Her back as she left for her first and final quest. His hand clenched into the wood of the bench. A single tear made its way down his face.

 

* * *

 

_Reach the stars, and fly a fantasy,_

_Dream a dream, and what you see will be_

* * *

He made his way out of Elysium and trudged through the yellow Fields of Asphodel.

He would not allow despair to get to him again. Bianca's life-or death- was her own. She had every right to decide for herself. He had no reason to feel betrayed. When it ca,me to the people he loved he had always felt a selfish desire to keep them close to him and protected in his embrace.

To _never_ let them go.

 

But he knew that that wasn't what love was about. It was about acceptance and patience.

With time he would learn to let go.

 

He imagined her in a new life. A normal happy life in bliss ignorance of gods and satyrs and monsters. A sad smile tugged across his pale face.

He was happy for her.

 

He drifted against the tide of aimless ghosts with no identity. The echoes of their regrets mingled with his own bore into his skull. He needed to get out of here.

 

That was when he saw _her._  


 

 Her amber eyes were alert and aware.

 

Among the billion hollow souls who had lost their essence Nico knew in an instant that she wasn't one of them.

 

He walked up to her and looked straight into her eyes. Amber met brown. It was as if Zeus himself had struck him with the lightening bolt. He stood stunned as another set of images flashed past his eyes, this time not his own.

 

_Hazel Levesque. Daughter of Pluto._

 

"You're different," he said. "A child of Pluto. You remember your past"

 

Nico couldn't believe his eyes. It took him a while to register. She was his sister. Well his half sister but nonetheless his very own blood.

 

What kind of game were the _Fates_ playing with him he wondered with solemn melancholy.

 

He felt a certain sense of genuine protectiveness and concern he hadn't felt for anyone in quite a while. He had stopped caring a long time back.

 

She looked at him warily, so he decided to do the one thing he hadnt done in ages. He confided in her.

 

"I'm Nico di Angelo," he said. "I came looking for my sister. Death has gone missing, so I thought...I thought I could bring her back and no one would notice."

 

"Back to life?" Hazel asked. She raised her head and her cinnamon curls bounced against her dark skin."Is that possible?"

 

"It should have been." Nico sighed. "But she's gone. She chose to be reborn into a new life. I'm too late."

 

"I'm sorry."

 

He held out his hand. "You're my sister too. You deserve another chance. Come with me."

* * *

 

_Show no fear, for she may fade away,_

_In your hand, the birth of a new day,_

* * *

The crisp sunlight dug into their eyes as hand in hand, siblings sharing the same blood, same lineage, same era stepped out of the realm of death and into forbidden life.

He turned back and gazed at his sister. _His sister._  


 

He felt giddy with joy but didn't let it show. A soft wind blew her dark curls into her face. She raised her hand in an attempt to hold back her frizzy mane and block out the streaming light.

 

Slowly, ever so gently she tilted her head and raised her glowing eyes to drink in her surroundings.

 

Her knees shook like a newly born colt, her other hand still in Nico's.

 

He was worried she would stumble any minute, but she stood strong holding her ground.

Her amber eyes now watery, tears threatening to spill, met his own. Her lips quivered as she opened and closed her mouth in gross indecision.

 

She took a step forward. A heartbeat later, she found her voice again.

 

" _Thank you_ "

 

* * *

 

_Lives that keep their secrets will unfold behind the clouds_

_And there upon the rainbow is the answer to our_

_never ending story_

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note: I love Hazel and Nico! Need I say more.  
> Hope you enjoyed.
> 
>  
> 
> Song used: Never Ending Story


End file.
